Pussy Riot's Maria Alyokhina: 'We want to say to [Putin] to leave'

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina of the Russian punk rock band Pussy Riot participated in an Amnesty International concert in Brooklyn on Wednesday. Both women were imprisoned for nearly two years after performing in protest of Vladimir Putin inside a Moscow church. Consider This correspondent Gianna Toboni spoke to them at a press conference prior to the "Bring Human Rights Home" concert at the Barclays Center.

Toboni joined Antonio Mora on set to discuss her interview on the Feb. 5, 2014 edition of Consider This. Here are highlights: 

Gianna Toboni: I first asked them — and I think it's something that a lot of Americans are wondering — is, is it safe for gay athletes, fans, tourists, from the U.S. and from other countries to attend the Sochi Olympics?

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova: That's not something that we can guarantee. What our government has been doing lately has been inciting hatred toward the LGBT community ... and we are seeing more and more violence against LGBT people.

Maria Alyokhina: And unfortunately in these cases we see law enforcement standing idly by.

Toboni: And as you know, Antonio, their archenemy is Russian president Vladimir Putin, and so I asked, if they had something to say to him, what would it be? And I also asked about their time in prison — how has it inspired the work that they're doing right now?

Alyokhina: We want to say to him to leave ...

Tolokonnikova: We can't be indifferent to things that are going on in the prison, which is why right now we're aiming to create a human rights organization called Zone of Law and to also involve the other international human rights organizations in observing the human rights situation in Russian prisons.

Toboni also caught up with actress Susan Sarandon on the red carpet prior to the event.

Toboni: Is it concerning for you and for other Americans to have gay athletes, fans, tourists, going to Russia for the Sochi Olympics?

Susan Sarandon: You know, that's a tough thing because people — I don't know, I mean you spend your whole life trying to get to the Olympics if you're an athlete and to expect them to not go, [that] I think is asking too much. But at the same time, I think it's important to use the opportunity to focus on what's going on in that country in terms of that kind of homophobia and the laws that are passed. I mean, I was just in India and I was asking about what's going on there, and then the minute I get back, they pass a law there. So I don't understand why this sudden, strange backlash, but I think we have to keep dialogue going, with what Ian McKellen has been blogging ... because just abstaining, unless it's an economic boycott, I think at this point that's not going to work. So I think to just not show up may not accomplish as much as going. You know, when you saw the athletes years and years ago trying to get Black Power, trying to fight against discrimination, they made more of a statement by going. ... So I think it's hard to expect athletes to boycott, but I think they need to be vocal and I think we need to be vocal. And if our record with Amnesty is true, it could make a difference.